1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mailbox apparatuses and, more particularly, to a theft preventative mailbox which is fixedly anchored to a ground location, extending above the ground, and including underground storage capacity for maintaining quantities of mail in a secure manner. The present invention further discloses a mail retrieval mechanism for permitting the addressee to retrieve the mail from the underground stored location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is well documented with varied examples of mailbox storage and mailbox theft preventative assemblies. The objective in each instance is to safeguard either or both the mail and the mail holding device from the time the mail delivery person deposits the mail until the addressee has an opportunity to collect the mail.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,441, issued to Toval, discloses a mechanism for elevating and lowering a mailbox assembly relative to a ground location and which includes a mail receiving box maintained in an automated elevator mechanism under the control of a timer circuit. The mail receiving box emerges and remains in an erected attitude over a time period when the mail is to be delivered and then retracts below ground, such as in the evening and night, to remain protected against vandalism. In a preferred embodiment, a jack screw is employed as the mechanical system that is turned to lift and lower a platform supporting the mail receiving box and includes limit switches to stop platform travel at the limits of screw jack travel. A timer arrangement commands operation of an electric motor to turn the screw jack to raise and lower the platform at set times, such as when mail delivery is anticipated, and includes a capability for remote control of the electric motor operation for overriding the timer to command system operation.
While providing a unique device for safeguarding the mail receiving box itself from vandalism, such as in rural locations in the evening and at nighttime, the device of Toval does not take into account any type of underground storage capability for the mail deposited within the receptacle device. Furthermore, the concept of selectively elevating and lowering an entire mailbox assembly into and out of a ground location requires that the source of AC input power be constant and guaranteed, as well as that the elevating mechanism work properly in all types of weather, such as winter in which freezing ground conditions are common. Additionally and/or alternatively, the failure or improper operation of the timer circuit may result in the mailbox device not elevating at the appropriate time, thus resulting in no mail being delivered. In addition, the whole mechanism and assembly is not secure when it is above ground and before and after the mail delivery. Also, synchronizing the mail box assembly with the mail delivery time can be unrealistic, especially in rural areas where delivery time can greatly vary.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,115, issued to Hassan, discloses a mail theft-preventative mailbox having a mail receiving end, a mail storage end, and an inclined and intermediate body portion disposed therebetween. The mail receiving end has an outgoing mail holding shelf provided therein and a pivotally attached door. The mail storage end holds the received mail and includes a lockable mail access door for removal of the mail. The back side of the mail storage end is flat and includes an upper extending flange allowing for placement of the mailbox on a conventional mail post. The inclined body portion is further long enough and sufficiently angled to prevent removal of mail by reaching into the mail receiving end.
The present invention is a theft-preventative mailbox for holding various sizes of both mail correspondence and larger sized and mailable parcels and which provides the combined features of permitting convenient access to the mailbox interior by the mail carrier in order to deposit both the correspondence and larger sized parcels, as well as providing a convenient means for the addressee to quickly and effectively retrieve his mail. The anti-theft device of the present invention also provides a substantially underground storage compartment of sufficient depth that it prevents against any unauthorized individuals attempting to access the mail, by hand or by the use of any manipulable structure.
The mailbox includes an elongate and internally hollowed body with a mail insertion slot configured at a generally upper end and which permits the receipt of relatively thin cross sectional mail correspondence. A mail parcel access door is preferably located in one of two preferred positions, the first being hingedly secured to a front surface of the elongate body and the second being hingedly secured to a top surface of the body above the correspondence insertion slot. The elongate and internally hollowed body defines a mail storage compartment at a substantially lower end and the elongate body is fixedly anchored at a ground location so that at least a portion of the mail storage compartment extends below a surface of the ground location.
A mail retrieval mechanism acts in concert with the parcel access door and permits the retrieval of the mail correspondence and mail parcels by the addressee. The mail retrieval means further includes a platform defined within the elongate and internally hollowed body and upon which is supported the deposited mail correspondence and mail parcels. A bi-directional drive assembly selectively elevates the platform proximate the retrieval door configured within the body and in a mail correspondence and mail parcel retrieval position. The drive assembly lowers the platform to the below ground location in a further mail depositing position and after the mailable items have been successfully retrieved.
In one preferred variant, the mail retrieval mechanism includes an elongated and flexible bag which is secured in substantially vertically extending fashion within the hollowed interior by eyelets formed around an open periphery of the bag and which are received upon suspending nubs extending inwardly from the body interior. Additional variants are also contemplated within the scope of the invention and in which the securing mechanism for holding the bag in place may extend all the way around the inner facing circumference of the structures hollow interior, such additional variants including examples of interengaging structure which may consist of, without limitation, clamps, clips, zippers and the like. The bag is positioned in such proximity to the door that the addressee can effectively retrieve the bag upon unlocking and opening the door.
In a further preferred variant, the mail retrieval mechanism is constructed with a bi-directional drive mechanism operated by an electric motor and for raising and lowering a platform arrayed within the elongate extending interior of the body. The bi-directional drive can include a vertically extending and exteriorly threaded jack screw which is rotatably supported and driven at a lower end by an electric motor and which is likewise rotatably supported at an upper end by an annular collar extending from an underside of the mail supporting platform.
In another application, the bi-directional drive is constructed as an elongated and looped belt which is secured against an inside surface of the internally hollowed body by first and second gears. The platform is in turn secured to an exteriorly facing location of the belt and in such a manner that it can bear the combined weight of the platform and the mail correspondence and parcels supported thereon. In a yet further application, a manual hand crank winding mechanism is incorporated into the design of the elongate extending body and is operable by the user to elevate the platform for mail retrieval.
In a still yet further application, the platform is elevated and lowered by a vertically actuated and elongate cylinder. The cylinder is fluid operated, such as pneumatically with air or with other hydraulic fluids, to selectively extend or retract a piston arm, an upper end of which is secured to an underside of the platform.
To further assist in theft-preventative holding of the mailable correspondence and parcel items, a one-directional constriction skirt is secured around the internally hollowed body and includes a plurality of circumferentially arrayed, flexible, arcuate and inwardly extending spear portions with substantially pointed ends. The constriction skirt permits, in particular applications, one way conveyance of the mail parcels, such as by a mail delivery person through an upper portion of the mailbox hingedly secured to the elongate body and by yielding in one direction only, that being the direction of downward insertion of the mailed parcel. The mail may therefore be inserted at a location above the skirt, passed through the flexible spear portions of the constricting skirt, and resting in the lower storage compartment, while at the same time preventing unauthorized individuals from retrieving the items. The access door is located in the front face of the body at a position below the arcuate skirt and so that, upon being opened by the addressee, the mailable items can be quickly retrieved.